Recent research has shown that emotional intelligence (EI) is one of the most important skills you can develop in your life. It’s also considered by some to be a separate skill, distinct from other types of intelligence such as logical or quantitative.

Many experts believe we all have a certain amount of EI, but it can be influenced and improved through education. This includes teaching yourself how to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions as well as those of others.

Teaching yourself these skills isn’t easy sometimes, but it will definitely pay off in the long run. You'll find that people who consider themselves intelligent are often praised for their empathy and understanding of things.

It's time to learn about all the different ways you can improve yours. In this article, we're going to talk about some ways to boost your EQ.

Link between emotional intelligence and mental health

Want to 10x your business's website traffic?

Look no further! Juice.ai puts your business in charge of its content strategy and gets you targeted clicks to your website. Check it out now!

Over the past few decades, there have been many studies that link higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI) with better overall mental health and lower rates of depression and anxiety.

Many experts believe that enhancing your emotional intelligence is an important part of improving your own mental wellness.

That’s why in this article we will talk about 9 ways to boost your emotional quotient (EQ).

You can read more about emotional intelligence here: what is it? Why are people different from each other? And how do you increase yours?

So let’s get started!

1. Increase gratitude

We’ve talked before about how adding gratitude into your daily life can improve your happiness. But did you know that researchers also think that having high levels of EQ comes down to being grateful?

A study conducted by Sonja Lyubomirsky found that when she asked participants to write down three things they were grateful for every day for one week, those who completed the exercise experienced significant increases in their level of psychological “well-being.”

The researchers concluded that thinking about things you are thankful for makes you feel happier because it triggers feelings of joy and contentment.

And while most might think that thanking God would make them happy, writing down something you’re grateful for can be anything — from praising a friend for his or her hard work to acknowledging a good meal you had today.

Teach emotional awareness

One of the most important things that can be taught is emotional literacy or emotional intelligence. This term has gotten a little bit hazy, but typically what it refers to is being able to recognize your emotions and understand why you feel them.

Many people have good emotional IQs, which help them regulate their own emotions and motivate themselves to do things because they understood how an emotion such as fear could prevent them from doing something they wanted to do.

On the other hand, there are some people who cannot identify their own emotions and therefore never learn anything about themselves or others. These individuals may even deny or ignore strong feelings that come up for them.

Teaching someone how to recognize and manage their own emotions is one of the first steps towards helping this person achieve his or her potential. There are several ways to teach this.

Education- socialization teaches us about ourselves through our experiences with others. By learning about the different types of emotions and how to respond to them, we begin to understand ourselves more.

For example, if someone tells you “I’m not angry at him/her,” they may be trying to hide a very strong feeling. Or maybe they are too scared of their own anger to show it.

By understanding the difference between the two, you can work on changing the second one into the first.

Teach self-control

One of the most important things that young people need to learn is how to manage their emotions. This includes being able to control your reactions to situations, and being aware of what makes you feel good about yourself and what doesn’t.

When we are in stressful or difficult circumstances, it is easy to lose our temper and say or do something that we later regret. It is very common for kids to be too focused on getting an answer right or proving themselves that they get angry when the test ends or the argument with parents gets tense.

These experiences can really hurt your confidence and make you feel bad about yourself. They may also strengthen unhealthy habits – avoiding conversations, arguments, or risk takers who might not be as strong as you.

Self-confidence goes hand in hand with emotional intelligence. If you don’t believe in yourself, then you won’t try hard enough to achieve your goals. You will also be more likely to avoid challenges because you fear failure.

Teach motivation

In addition to helping you manage your emotions, teaching someone how to motivate themselves can have great benefits. Motivation is a key player in emotional intelligence.

If you want someone to do something, they must be motivated to do it. For example, if you wanted someone to go grocery shopping with you, they would need to be willing to come along.

You will not get very far if people are not motivated to spend time with you. So, how can you teach them this skill?

By what we refer to as motivational theory. This looks at why individuals choose to put effort into things that matter to them. We call these features of the individual “intrinsic” motivations.

These are reasons that appeal to an individual about doing a task, without any incentives such as paychecks or praise. These are personal goals that each person puts more value in than money or accolades.

It is difficult to gain someone’s attention when they no longer feel inspired by their own life. By adding rewards for good behavior, you can inspire people to keep up their efforts.

Teach CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most common approaches to emotional intelligence training. This theory was developed in the 1980s by Stanford University psychologist Aaron Beck. He proposed that mental disorders arise when you add up negative thoughts and behaviors. For example, if you think about things too much, or worry about past mistakes or future worries, this can create stress which eventually manifests as symptoms like anxiety or depression.

In order to reduce these symptoms, then, it’s important to learn how to recognize and cut down on negative thinking. Mental health professionals now use cognitive behavioral therapy to help patients do just that.

One effective way they do this is teaching someone to be aware of their own thought processes. You’re probably already very conscious of some parts of your mind, suchas perception, memory, reasoning, and emotion. But what about the other part? The part that has to do with thinking about thinking?

This concept is called reflection. Reflection is the ability to take time out from whatever you are doing and consider your actions and consequences. For instance, if you were talking to a friend and realized you left the house without telling her where you would be, you would make a call back to find out where she went.

This is an example of reflective behavior. It comes after action, and requires you to step back and think about what you did.

Teach meditation

One of the most important things you can teach someone about emotional intelligence is how to meditate. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most common routes is practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness comes from Buddhism, but it has become its own thing now. You can learn how to be more mindful through different types of courses or via yoga classes.

There have been some studies that link having enough mindfulness with your emotional intelligence. By being aware of what you're doing at the moment, you'll understand yourself better.

You will also notice your emotions changing as you're spending time looking after yourself emotionally. It may even help you manage your relationships more effectively.

Teach yoga

One of the most fundamental things that emotional intelligence training courses teach you is how to manage your emotions. This includes being able to control your anger, be tolerant of others’ faults or mistakes, and recognize when someone is trying to take advantage of you or hurt you.

It also teaches you how to use different strategies to deal with stress. Many people think that only wealthy or powerful individuals have normal levels of stress, but this isn’t always the case. Even average income earners can become very stressed out due to work commitments, family issues, etc.

However, having adequate stress management skills will go a long way towards helping you lead a happier life. There are several ways to learn how to reduce your level of stress, such as practicing relaxation exercises, getting enough sleep, and using coping mechanisms and rewards for yourself.

Yoga is an excellent exercise tool for achieving this goal because it helps to increase overall wellness and quality of life. Not only does it improve your mental health, but it also has positive effects on your physical health as well.

There are many types of yoga, so there is no one size fits all! Here are some tips for how to teach beginner yoga to your students.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important things when it comes to teaching anyone anything. If you want someone to learn how to play the guitar, then you must teach them to hold their hand down while strumming for at least ten minutes every day. They will not be able to do this if they are only taught this technique once in a week!

If you want people to develop emotional intelligence, consistency is needed beyond education. This includes daily life practices and routines. For example, if someone learns what makes them feel happy, then they should try to use that thing each night before going to sleep. Or if they have learned what makes them feel bad, they could practice avoiding those behaviors during the day.

Consistent lessons and practices make changes easier as your mental and emotional well-being grows. These skills can easily be forgotten due to external or internal factors, so making sure these are always there helps keep emotions under control.